First things first, Ethan Carter III isn't really the spoiled nephew of former TNA boss Dixie Carter -- that's just the way professional wrestling storylines go.

Ethan Carter III or EC3, is really just Michael Hutter, a 34-year-old who followed his dreams, just like his mom and dad. He beat the odds, becoming a champion along the way.

On Sunday, he's part of the lineup for Impact Wrestling's Bound for Glory pay-per-view at Lansdowne Park's Aberdeen Pavilion. He'll be part of Team Impact with Eddie Edwards and James Storm as they face Team AAA (El Hijo del Fantasma, Pagano and Texano). Back to that later.

Why wrestling? And why did he stick with it when so many others fail?

"A misguided childhood ambition, turned into a dream, turned into something I wouldn't take no for an answer in," he said. "There were people in my life who scoffed at it, laughed at it.

"I don't have the story where Mom (Maureen) and Dad (Michael) didn't want me to do this. They had a dream: They wanted to own a business. They did everything they could to make that happen (they bought a restaurant in Kirtland, Ohio). They didn't want to take my dream away from me. As long as I put everything I had into it, they were willing to allow me to fail at it (or) to, hopefully, succeed.

"There aren't a lot of opportunities to make a good living doing this. NFL has 32 teams, Major League Baseball has 30 teams. Wrestling is very much a longshot. It's more motivation for me to do what I do better. I'm better when I'm being chased. I've wrestled in parking lots, back alleys, just dumps, to get where I'm at. So I'm sure there's somebody doing the same thing to get here. But I guarantee I want it just a bit more than they do."

As a kid, Hutter was inspired by larger-than-life icons such as Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior, but always took a shine to the bad guys -- chatty villains such as Rick Rude and Mr. Perfect. So he set out to make his dream come true.

He was signed to a developmental deal by WWE in 2009, then released.

"Anytime I thought it wasn't going to happen, I used that as motivation to make sure it did," he said. "If you truly want something, you have to go all in. You can't half-ass it, you can't give 70 per cent."

His career path brought him to TNA, where he's been one of the company's stars -- in a match on Sunday where he's maybe left a bit "twisting in the wind."

As EC3, Hutter amplifies his real-life persona, something that resonates with wrestling fans.

"They go in hand," he said. "One just says what he feels a lot more, the other one kind of hides it in and takes it out on his therapist. The good thing about being a character is you can let it all out there.

"This is wrestling, it isn't Shakespeare. It doesn't need to be something that's deep thinking. It still needs to be real and needs to hit on an emotional and personal level with fans."

HAVING AN IMPACT

What: Impact Wrestling is holding its Bound for Glory pay-per-view Sunday, followed by five straight nights of TV tapings in Ottawa.Where: Aberdeen Pavilion (Lansdowne Park). Times: 7:30 p.m., Sunday-FridayTickets: TDPlace.ca or at the TD Place box office. While Bound for Glory tickets are sold out, there are plenty of tickets remaining for the Impact TV tapings Monday-Friday.